Arsenal v Stoke City (2015-16)
| next = }} Arsenal v Stoke City was a match which took place at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday 12 September 2015. Arsenal recorded their first home win of the season as goals from Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud beat Stoke. Walcott opened the scoring in the first half when he chased a long ball over the defence from Mesut Ozil before firing low beyond Jack Butland. Substitute Giroud sealed victory late on with a header. Stoke, who have not won at Arsenal since 1981, rarely looked like scoring, Joselu going closest with a shot at Petr Cech. Arsenal are third in the Premier League but defeat for Stoke - their second of the season - means they are bottom after five games. Arsenal's attacking strength, or perhaps lack of, has come under scrutiny during the early stages of the season, with Arsene Wenger's side having managed just three goals in their four league games prior to the visit of Stoke. It has been at Emirates Stadium in particular where they have struggled, failing to score in a 2-0 defeat by West Ham and a goalless draw with Liverpool. Wenger is keeping his faith in Walcott and Giroud to score the goals this season but, despite both netting, there were still some areas of concern as the pair spurned good opportunities to seal a victory by a bigger margin. Walcott shot wide early on when he should have scored, and later directed a weak effort straight at Butland. Giroud, meanwhile, missed a near open goal before heading in the decisive second. In the end, Arsenal had 29 shots on goal, 12 of those on target, and their general wastefulness in the final third could be of greater concern against more attack-minded sides. Former England midfielder Jermaine Jenas on Final Score: "It was a good finish from Theo Walcott for the goal but I still have doubts about him playing as a striker. "He missed two big opportunities before that. For one of them, from six yards out he couldn't get his feet right and smashed the ball over the bar. "I just think he'd get just as many goals as he does playing on the right wing." Stoke, who finished ninth last season, had not won at Arsenal in 34 years, making Emirates Stadium a far from ideal venue for them to try to record their first win of the season. Having developed a reputation for being a physical side in previous years, Mark Hughes is trying to re-invent the Potters and brought in technically gifted players such as Xherdan Shaqiri and Ibrahim Afellay in the summer. Afellay was suspended for Saturday's game but Shaqiri had little opportunity to show what he is capable of, with Stoke rarely venturing out of their own half. The Potters have yet to get going this season, having now lost three and drawn two of their five games so far, and a more direct approach might be necessary to start getting the wins they need. Match Details Giroud |goals2 = |stadium = Emirates Stadium, London |attendance = 59,963 |referee = Jonathan Moss }} |valign="top"| |valign="top" width="50%"| |} The stats you need to know *Theo Walcott scored for a ninth successive Premier League season. *Olivier Giroud scored only his second goal in his last 12 Premier League appearances. *Mesut Ozil has created 76 goalscoring chances in the Premier League in 2015, more than any other player. *Stoke's total of two points from five games is their worst ever start in the Premier League. See also *2015-16 Premier League: Match day 5 External links *Match report at BBC.co.uk Category:2015-16 Match Day info Category:Arsenal F.C. matches Category:Stoke City F.C. matches Category:2015–16 Premier League Matches